Online Catalog - State Archives of Florida - Florida Department of State

State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.

Details Page
Click on for detailed listing.

	Record Group Number:	800000
	Series/Collection Number:	.L 197
	Creator:	Florida. Circuit Court (7th Circuit : Saint Johns County)
	Title, Dates:	Probate and court records, 1784-1953.
	Amount:	11.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	By record type.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Saint Johns County was one of the two original counties created in Florida on July 21, 1821. During the next three years, the size of Saint Johns County decreased significantly due to the creation of four new counties. In 1822, the Legislative Council of Florida created Duval County from the northern portion. In 1823, Monroe County was created from the southern portion of Saint Johns County. In 1824, the southern portion was used for the creation of Mosquito County and a western portion was used for the creation of Alachua County. Later in 1849, Putnam County was created from the western portion of Saint Johns County. The final boundary change occurred in 1917 when Flagler County was created from the southern portion. The Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county serves as the official custodian of deed, marriage and probate records.
	Summary:	This series consists of a microfilm copy of the probate and court records for Saint Johns County, Florida from 1784 to 1953. The series contains a general probate index (1821-1953), East Florida Spanish wills (1784-1816), miscellaneous record books (1844-1896), will books and records (1844-1915), letters of administration (1840-1862), orders of the probate court (1866-1905), county court minutes (1846-1891), circuit court minutes (1827-1893), and a chancery book (1854-1885). Probate is the transfer of property title and rights and of legal responsibility for payment of taxes or of custody from the deceased to another party, from a person judged incompetent or insane, or from a minor to an appointed guardian. Probate records document the administration and distribution of an individual's estate after death. A will is a legal instrument by which people declare how they wish their property or estate to be disposed of after their death. Wills usually contain direct statements regarding the relationships between the deceased and his family and denote ownership of specific property and goods. Administration records concern people who died intestate -- having no valid will and thus no provisions for their estate. These records document the appointment by the court of an administrator for such an estate.
	Finding Aids:	Microfilm listing available.
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Microfilm.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Saint Johns County. Office of the Clerk. Saint Augustine, Florida.
	Associated Materials:
	Language Notes:	Some records in Spanish.
	Ownership/Custodial History:
	Publication Note:
	General Note:
	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Probate records Florida --Saint Johns County Court records Florida --Saint Johns County Circuit courts Florida Probate records. aat Territorial records. aat Wills. aat Estate inventories. aat Judicial records. aat Minutes. aat Saint Johns County (Fla.) Florida History To 1821 East Florida.
	Added Entries